Syracuse, NY -- A London company and Upstate Medical University have agreed to work together to open a cancer therapy facility in Syracuse, possibly under the state's newly launched Start-Up NY tax-free initiative.

Advanced Oncotherapy PLC and the state medical university in Syracuse have signed a memorandum of understanding, a non-binding agreement, to begin the steps necessary to establish a proton therapy facility at the university.

A site for the cancer treatment facility has not been chosen, but Advanced Oncotherapy said it could be built at Loguen's Crossing, a mixed-use project being built by the university and COR Development near downtown Syracuse.

The company said the university would become the first medical center in the United States to offer proton beam therapy based on its patented technology.

Proton radiotherapy is a more accurate form of treatment than conventional radiotherapy, causing far fewer side effects and sparing healthy tissues and organs, according to the company. Instead of x-rays, beams of protons are directed at tumors to destroy the cancer cells within them.

However, proton machines have been prohibitively expensive, limiting their use. Advanced Oncotherapy said its technology has cut the cost of equipment and installation by 60 percent compared with current technology.

"We believe the technology they are developing will be able to provide proton radiotherapy to our patients at markedly reduced costs," said Dr. David Duggan, senior vice president and dean of the College of Medicine at the university.

Duggan said the agreement between the company and the university sets in motion a series of steps designed to bring Advanced Oncotherapy to Syracuse. Among those steps is receiving approvals from the state Department of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a process that could take three years, he said.

Advanced Oncotherapy is hoping to become one of the first companies to take advantage of the generous tax exemptions available under the Start-Up NY program.

Duggan said the university believes the project could be eligible for the new tax break program for businesses. However, Duggan said it's too early to seek entry into the program, which does not even take effect until next year. The state is still writing the rules under which companies can apply to participate in the program.

Proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and approved by the state Legislature, Start-Up NY will allow start-up companies and companies relocating from other states to operate free of state taxes for 10 years if they open job-creating facilities on State University of New York campuses and some private college campuses.

Employees in participating companies will pay no state income taxes for the first five years. For the second five years, employees will pay no state taxes on income up to $200,000 of wages for individuals, $250,000 for a head of household and $300,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return.

Advanced Oncotherapy did not say how many jobs might be created by its Syracuse facility. Duggan said it is too early to say how many people could be employed at the proposed facility. However, he said the hope is that the facility would serve as both a development center, a patient treatment facility and a manufacturing center.

The company said the new center would support academic and research activities focused on the biology of proton treatment for cancer and its clinical utility in different types of cancers.

Duggan said research is needed to determine the best uses of proton treatment -- for example, which cancers it would be most effective against. Its current high cost has limited its use and, thus, research into the technology, he said. The nearest proton treatment facilities to Syracuse are in Philadelphia and Boston, he said.

"If things work out the way we hope, this could provide a better way to treat patients at a cost comparable to standard radiation treatments," he said.

Upstate Medical treats 16,000 cancer patients a year. It is scheduled to open the $90 million Upstate Cancer Center just west of the hospital's main entrance on East Adams Street in 2014.